By Ryan Dombal on October 13, 2010 at 11:40 a.m. EDT

Anyone who's seen the Flaming Lips live knows Wayne Coyne has an obsession with fake blood. But now he's taking things one step further, making a Lips poster with his own (real) blood. Yes, blood that was extracted from his body with a needle.

Lucky for all of us, there's a making-of video chronicling the whole process, which the Flaming Lips posted on their Twitter. "We thought it would be silly to use some chicken blood," he says, and who are we to argue. Watch it below:

By Ryan Dombal on October 8, 2010 at 2:40 p.m. EDT

Oh, Inverted World is the name of the Shins' debut album from 2001. And now it's also the name of a ballet by San Francisco's Smuin Ballet. The program is set to Shins music, features choreography by Trey McIntyre, and runs through February 27.

Watch a trailer for the Oh, Inverted World ballet below... looks intense:

By Larry Fitzmaurice on October 6, 2010 at 12:25 p.m. EDT

At this point, we know that South African rave-rap pranksters Die Antwoord are out of their fucking gourds. So the fact that the video for "Evil Boy", the Diplo collaboration from Die Antwoord's forthcoming Cherrytree/Interscope debut $0$, is typically bonkers should be no surprise. Still, these guys are really good at coming up with crazy shit to put in a video: nipple-less breasts, angry-looking furry monsters, a bunch of guys with machetes, and plenty-- plenty-- of penis-shaped objects that pretty much look just like penises. The video's NSFW, obviously, unless you work in a really weird place.

By Ryan Dombal on September 30, 2010 at 3:45 p.m. EDT

Have you ever had that nightmare where a South African lion cub bites you and then you go to the hospital and the place is shut down because of mysterious deaths due to an unidentified virus and then you get in a car crash? It's pretty rough.

Then again, it's not as rough as all that shit actually happening to you in real life, as it did to Bloc Party/Ash guitarist Russell Lissack during a South African tour with Ash recently. The news was reported by Spinner and confirmed by Ash's publicist. Lissack is seemingly OK now, but he may not want to leave the house for a few days months.

By Tom Breihan on September 28, 2010 at 4:55 p.m. EDT

Photo by Kirstie Shanley

Earlier today, we pointed out some British press reports that MGMT drummer Will Berman had left the stage in Manchester, England Sunday night after being attacked by a piss-throwing audience member. We also reported that the band had said in an interview that Columbia Records, their label, was planning to grant them less freedom in recording their follow-up to Congratulations. But according to an email from MGMT co-leader Andrew VanWyngarden, neither report is true.

By Tom Breihan on September 28, 2010 at 12:35 p.m. EDT

According to reports, someone in Manchester, England really hated MGMT's set at the Manchester Apollo on Sunday night. Ace Showbiz reports (via Metro) that the band's drummer, Will Berman, left the stage after a fan threw a "glass full of urine" onstage, hitting Berman in the chest.

According to Ace Showbiz, Berman refused to come back onstage after band leaders Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser "pleaded" for his return. The attack allegedly happened during "The Handshake", one of the band's last songs of the night, and VanWyngarden and Goldwasser had to ask the crowd what had happened when they noticed Berman's absence. They finished the set without percussion.

Reports of the incident seem kind of sketchy, though. Were you at the show? Email us at news@pitchfork.com if you have details.

By Tom Breihan on September 3, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. EDT

If anyone was going to invent a Theremin that you could control with your mind, it'd have to be someone from the Elephant 6 collective, right? According to a possibly-not-joking press release, Apples in StereofrontmanRobert Schneider has done just that. Scheider has invented a device he calls the Teletron, which allows the user to play an analog synth completely through brain activity.

By Tom Breihan on August 18, 2010 at 11:20 a.m. EDT

Hospital Ships and Jonathan Meiburg: "Answers":

Hospital Ships: Answers [feat. Jonathan Meiburg]

A few weeks ago, major storms in Chicago caused flooding in some areas, and the Logan Square-based indie Graveface Records (Black Moth Super Rainbow, Jason Molina, Octopus Project) was hit hard. A large percentage of its stock was ruined without insurance coverage. So to make up some of the difference, Graveface is asking for donations and holding a raffle.

One of the prizes in that raffle stands out amidst all the rare test pressings and screen-printed tour posters: XiuXiufrontmanJamie Stewart has contributed a cup of his own piss. You've been warned.